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A year and a half ago, the 31-year-old, who hasn’t been clean shaven since high school, removed most his bushy beard at his girlfriend’s request.

Sepers caved because “she just wasn’t a fan” and he wasn’t entirely sure how his employers at the Canadian Mental Health Association in Guelph would take his extensive facial hair.

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But they accepted the scruff, and the girlfriend is now an ex, so now Sepers just grows his beard.

The reddish-brown hair covers the lower half of his face and extends down to his chest, which is a relief, since a smooth face makes you the mockery of The Ancient Order of Hirsute Gentlemen, a group Sepers has belonged to for a few years.

Fellow member Mark McAlpine, 43, shaved his beard off briefly over a year ago, but rather than be teased and temporarily tossed from the group, “I almost immediately started growing it right back.”

The Order is a semi-serious group of half a dozen or so Guelph friends with big, bigger and enormous beards. They meet whenever they can, sometimes weekly, sometimes monthly, and drink whisky, smoke pipes, and talk beards. The name, said McAlpine, adds “a bit of gravitas.”

They all agree the beard is making a comeback, although judging by old photos of famous doctors and lawyers sporting bushy beards and grown-out sideburns, Sepers thinks it might be “one of those cyclical fashion things.”

Lately there have been a whole slew of celebrities sporting facial hair, from the less extreme, like Ryan Gosling, to the more extreme, like Jon Hamm or Robert De Niro.

Christie Ressel, a stylist with Personal Power Image in Toronto, says that while celebrities are always a factor in style trends, it’s more likely the bearded celebs and athletes are just a convenient excuse.

“If men are looking to copy something, it’s because that particular style may resonate,” Ressel said. “It gives an excuse, reason for some as to why they can wear it now.”

Humour is also partly to blame for some of the resurgence, she said.

“Looking at the men from Duck Dynasty … (regular men) don’t look at them with credibility or for style direction, they think it’s funny,” Ressel said. “That’s partially why I think Movember has become such a huge hit; it’s raising money for a great cause, and men get a good laugh out of it.”

But whether someone’s beard is comical or serious, the scruffy look could be around for awhile because shaving habits are changing, according to Nicole Tyrimou, an analyst with Euromonitor International, a market research company.

And while some razor sales are declining the companies attribute it more to competition, as opposed to scruff.

Procter & Gamble owns the Gillette brand, a major player in the razor market. The company reported in August a decrease in razor sales in developed parts of the world. Its net sales were up this year, but that was primarily owing to gains in developing markets which helped offset the decline.

Energizer Holdings Inc, the company behind a number of shaving brands, including Schick and Wilkinson Sword, reported a 3 per cent decline in net sales of wet shaving products for 2013 up to the end of June, compared to the year before

Even so, the love of the beard is a factor going forward, said Tyrimou.

“The desire for an unshaven look is expected to continue, especially in Western Europe where increasing unemployment coupled with stubble being in vogue will continue to damage growth of razors and blades,” she wrote. “The biggest concern for men’s shaving companies will be if this trend catches on in Latin America, a market skewed toward fashion trends and celebrities, with increasingly more celebrities and sportsmen, from Brad Pitt to Lionel Messi, often being seen with stubble or even a full-grown beard in some cases.”

But for the bearded, whisky-drinking men of the Order the beards aren’t some combination of slovenliness and laziness, nor are they bending to celebrity trends. They just like them.

At the end of the day, Ressel said it’s about personal choice and if personal choice dictates a big, bushy beard then it’s about cleanliness.

“The biggest thing is just to maintain it,” Ressel said. “If you’re going for a particular shape just make sure it’s not unruly or messy looking. Comb it through, cut it properly … make sure the length you have is appropriate.”

Stuart Smith’s beard is trimmed, neat and clean, but some of the women at work call his beard “gross.”

Still, when the 34-year-old paramedic and Order member goes out on calls, he said it’s a big hit.

“The elderly love it,” he said. “My hair is short and I wear a uniform so it’s not expected … I can’t blend in with the masses.”

While he has “no urge to shave whatsoever,” Smith said it’s almost a matter of time before his employers make him shave for safety reasons.

But for now, he’s just going to keep growing.

Still, for those only growing with the trend, Tyrimou cautioned: “Over the very long term, however, as with every trend, the wheel will turn and suddenly the fashion will be passé.”

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